A large crowd approaches the gate of Nain. A grieving widow is burying her only son. Then Jesus comes forward and touches the bier. “Young man,” he says, “I say to you rise.” Miraculously the dead man sits up and begins to speak. It’s a wonderful scene, but what is the story about? The grieving widow doesn’t fall on her knees and beg Jesus to
Can you remember the thrill of a good exam result? The trouble with exam results is, that despite the knowledge that exams are about measuring our own potential, we still like to compare our marks against those of our classmates. Our success is made all the more meaningful by the fact that others have done less well. If this mentality stopped at exams this wouldn’t
Thomas Edison, a famous and prolific American inventor, is accredited the famous quote that success is, “One percent Inspiration and ninety nine percent perspiration!” The idea is that however clever or creative we are, success is mostly about hard work, patience and dedication. It appears that success is more about not giving up than anything else. So what if we adopted the same attitude when
1. Faith can move mountains… well it can certainly get us moving. Recall a time when you were full of self-doubt, skepticism about a project, or lacking trust in God. What was that like? Contrast this with times when you believed in yourself, or in the value of a project you had undertaken, or when your faith and trust in God was strong. What kind
Another challenging Gospel about how we see and treat the poor. Wealth is not the problem. The problem is how we use our riches. Amos is the champion of the poor and oppressed. He says there will be a day of reckoning for those who misappropriated their wealth. The is the story of the rich man in today’s Gospel. He showed no concern for the
Why is that so many people who are selfish and even dishonest do so much better in life than those with integrity? Could it be to do with the way we are wired? As human beings we have a primeval instinct for self-preservation. It would appear that self-preservation is a far more powerful a motivation than the motivation to be altruistic. In today’s gospel story
